Boating Articles

At many boat and yacht clubs across the country the boating
season will soon be winding down. But the BoatU.S. Speakers
Bureau is heating up, according to Claire Wyngaard, Speakers
Bureau Administrator at BoatU.S. Headquarters.

"As boaters move inside, it's back to monthly club
meetings," Wyngaard says. "And many clubs are
looking for ways to reinvigorate, educate or entertain
their membership. One way they do that is by engaging
a speaker from the BoatU.S. Speakers Bureau."

Grown from modest beginnings as a member benefit for BoatU.S.
Cooperating Groups, the Bureau has become the booking
service for speakers, lectures and discussions on all
things boating. Now open to any boat club, rendezvous,
town or marina group, the free service arranges speaking
engagements each year for the 375 speakers registered
with the program.

"Some groups have educational needs while others
would like a great keynote speaker for a holiday or annual
dinner," says Wyngaard. "We can fill most every
need."

So what do clubs want to know from a speaker? The answers
vary greatly. "Sometimes a group will have a topic
in mind, or other times they will contact the speaker
to talk about their needs," says Wyngaard. Topics
range from the practical to the pipe dream. "We have
speakers who are experts in what to look for in a vessel
survey or give sailboat racing and boat handling tips.
Others can talk about how to take the liveaboard plunge,
find the Titanic or discuss Medieval and Viking craft."
Some presentations are multimedia with slides and sound.

The process begins by requesting a speaker at BoatU.S.com
and filling out a request form. Wyngaard then sends a
list of speakers in their area. "We try to arrange
for nearby speakers as most of the requests are for nighttime
appearances and we don't like to have a speaker drive
far to get home." Wyngaard says that most of the
volunteer speakers are free. "Occasionally, there
are stipends or donations involved for the most sought-after
speakers. A nice dinner is also always appreciated."

Having an impact

Gail Ostrow, a sailor, United States Power Squadron member
and educator, who's fast to quip, "I love stand-up
performance," has been a speaker since 1996. She
speaks about the monumental shift of leaving terra firma
behind to embrace the full-time cruising lifestyle. Ostrow
claims her greatest achievement was with a couple who
attended her speaking engagement at a hole-in-the-wall
Chinese buffet restaurant years ago.

The couple in the audience that night had just embarked
on a long, five-year plan to save money, end their careers
and sell their home in order to cruise full time. Ostrow
told them, "If you want to cruise full time--just
do it now, because you will never have enough money and
there will always be reasons that will keep you from your
dreams."

The couple took her advice to heart and quickly changed
plans, reducing their five-year plan to one, and have
been cruising ever since.

Capt. Kathy Redmond, author of two cruising guides, gives
about half-a-dozen presentations each year to Hudson River,
NY, area clubs. She likes to talk about women and boating
because, "It's a cause. Women often fall into the
'man trap' when aboard," she says. "They spend
time watching kids or making meals, but not behind the
helm. I know. I was one of them."

But she isn't finger pointing. Redmond says she's surprised
by the number of men who want their partner to love boating
as much as they do. So in her discussions she tries to
encourage both men and women to share the experience.

As with many speakers, the engagements are a two-way street.
They give Redmond a chance to speak about her Intracoastal
Waterway and Florida Keys cruising guides and a children's
book she's authored on the corals of the Keys.

Other prominent authors on the West Coast include Los
Angeles Times writer and radio and TV personality Capt.
Mike Whitehead; The Boat Owners Legal and Financial Advisor
author Larry Rogers; and Nancy Erley, author of One Hundred
and One Hints for Circumnavigators; in the Midwest are
Wake of the Green Storm author Marlin Bree; Mariners Guide
and to the Inland Rules author Mark Tilford; on the East
Coast are Chris Brown, author of the Cruising Guide to
New York Waterways and Lake Champlain; William Shellenberger,
author of Cruising the Chesapeake; and in the South, The
Legend of Chris-Craft author Jeffrey Rodengen; Experiment
in Survival author George Sigler; and Claiborne Young,
author of the Cruising Guide to Western Florida, and other
books.

Rick Izard, vice commodore of the Philadelphia Sailing
Club, has called upon the Speakers Bureau several times
in the last year. The social sailing club gets together
for group charters around the world, but when at home,
"We like to liven up meetings and attract new members
by using speakers," says Izard. He finds that the
Bureau helps his "little old humble club" get
over the barriers of finding good speakers--namely cost
and selection. "Getting a speaker on my own takes
a lot more time and effort. The BoatU.S. Speakers Bureau
makes it much easier."

The club recently hosted Capt. Don Launer with a talk
on the history of navigation. "Unfortunately, I was
unable to attend but everyone told me I missed a good
one. Capt. Launer even brought his own collection of navigation
instruments," said Izard.

If you'd like to find out what speakers are available
in your area, go to BoatU.S.com and click on the Speakers
Bureau area in the "Boating Information" section
and fill out the form, or call 800-678-6467. Four weeks
notice is preferred.

Once the form is returned a list of speakers available
in that area is sent to the group, which in turn, notifies
the speakers Bureau of its selections. The Bureau then
usually contacts the speakers directly, with the details
of the engagement, who then accept or decline.

The Bureau is always on the lookout for new speakers.
If you are interested in becoming a speaker, you can fill
out a form at BoatUS.com. There currently is a great need
for speakers in the Midwest and Western states.

The BoatU.S. Speakers Bureau also offers free videos to
groups on a wide range of topics. A list of titles is
also available at BoatUS.com.